She is heading off to Hawaii for a holiday then to Australia for a nursing reunion and is looking forward to welcoming her first grandchild, a boy, in November.
Mrs O'Hara trained in Palmerston North and was working as a charge nurse when she was asked to come on board as nursing manager.
The hospital opened about the same time as Glenwood Hospital, a private hospital, closed in the face of mounting compliance costs for its ageing building.
Mrs O'Hara even had a hand in naming the facility, after feisty Scotswoman Selina Sutherland, who was instrumental in establishing the first hospital in Masterton in the 1860s.
"We just thought she was a good mascot for the community, meeting the needs for a rural community."
She said private hospitals attract specialist staff important in small rural communities and allowed people options.
"If you take away a private facility, you find it difficult to attract key staff."
She said it was a win-win relationship between the public and private sector with specialists working for both.
"When I first started, we only had one orthopaedic surgeon, now there are three."
And orthopaedics is an important service for a region with an older population."
The hospital is located on the public hospital site and it leases theatre time and support services from the DHB.
Staff perform 600-700 operations each year funded by either ACC, health insurance, or patients' own private funding.
Mrs O'Hara said it will be very hard to leave her team, some of whom she has worked with for many years.
But she is confident Cate Tyrer, the new business manager, will do a great job.
Mrs Tyrer has worked for Wairarapa and Hutt DHBs for five years as the manager of quality, safety and risk.
"I want to build on what Lesley has created and grow the business with increased services and new contracts."
She said part of her new role would be to promote new services like cataract operations.
They can be done for a reasonable cost here instead of heading over the hill, she said.
